Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an exclusive interview to iTV Network.
In an exclusive interview to iTV Network, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Aishwarya Pandit Sharma of The Sunday Guardian, NewsX Editor-In-Chief Rishabh Gulati, and India News Editor-In-Chief Rana Yashwant.
He mounted an attack at the Congress party for rejecting the invite to the Ram Mandir’s consecration ceremony. The Prime Minister also pointed out the irony of the Babri case litigant being present for the foundation stone laying ceremony and the inauguration of the Mandir.
This has got to be the ultimate Ram Mandir irony. Hear what PM Modi had to say about the now most infamous, most counter intuitive, most thought provoking irony of what happened in Ayodhya that day when the temple was being inaugurated.#PMModiOnITV@narendramodi @PMOIndia… pic.twitter.com/enxp7W5eVN
— NewsX World (@NewsX) May 21, 2024
Prime Minister Modi asserted that Ram Mandir should have been built right after Independence. He said, “In all these years, it wasn’t built because they (Congress) felt it would affect their vote bank. Attempts were made in the Courts till the very end to stop it. It is a fact that Congress hindered the building of the Ram Mandir.”
Further commenting on the landmark 2019 judgement and its aftermath, PM Modi stressed, “Despite this, when the Supreme Court judgment came through, the Court constituted a trust, and the trust members, let go of all past differences and went to invite the Congress Party members to the consecration ceremony. They rejected the invitation.”
When asked about case litigant Iqbal Ansari reaffirming faith in the government’s policies and welfare schemes, Prime Minister Modi narrated the irony of what happened in Ayodhya on the day of the Mandir’s consecration.
He shared, “Iqbal Ansari, who fought the Babri Masjid case his entire life, respected the Supreme Court’s verdict and attended the ‘Shilanyas’ and the ‘Pran Prathistha’ ceremony as well.”
Addressing the border topic of Secularism in India, he stressed that a false narrative was peddled for over 75 years through a very well-crafted conspiracy. He said, “Sardar Patel was targeted by this narrative, today it may be my turn, tomorrow someone else…”
In this regard, he sharpened his attack at the Congress and emphasised that they hide behind their politics of appeasement and instead accuse him of being communal.
View this post on Instagram
He said, “I am talking about those communal parties that wear the ‘nikab’ of secularism and indulge in hardcore communalism… They are hardcore sectarians, they are extremely casteist, and they are hardcore dynasts.”
The Prime Minister explained that India’s constitution does not allow anyone to indulge in sectarian acts.
Watch the full interview on NewsX : YouTube | Facebook | X